Playing With Fire
by stendanlove
Summary: Ste goes on a date with a man he meets online, in an attempt to finally get over Brendan. Blinded by his need to have the man out of his life once and for all, he doesn't think about the consequences behind what he's about to do. M Rated, R


**A/N: Hey guys it's stendanlove from twitter, tumblr and facebook! I haven't posted fanfics in aaaages but Stendan has inspired me to have a bit of confidence and post them on here. This fanfic follows the online dating storyline that's been in the spoilers recently. I obviously don't know how it's going to turn out, but here's just a fanfic of mine which spins off from that. It's going to be multiple chapters – I'm expecting there to be six chapters when I'm done. Not really a long winded story though; it only spans two nights, haha! I hope you enjoy.**

**I'll probably have the next chapter up by next week at some point. I'm going to try and update twice every week, but I might not quite hit that target, because I have GCSE exams coming up and lots of work to do! One more thing – please review if you read. It's only polite, and it keeps me motivated to write more! Even if you don't like it, I'd appreciate constructive criticism. Thanks for reading, hope you like!**

**Playing With Fire**

Sighing loudly, Ste slouched in the comfy café armchair and loaded up his laptop. It'd been a bit of a long day, with a long shift at the deli and having to conduct more interviews. He had to admit it felt good being the one hiring instead of the one filling out (badly) those stupid application forms and turning up nervously to those interviews, but it was a bit of a strain sorting it all out. Doug had been great though, taking charge of the financial and business side of the interviews while Ste actually talked to them about their customer service and cooking and things. Ste found himself really appreciative of how thoughtful Doug was about his dyslexia and his understanding that there were things he could and couldn't do.

As the laptop started running, Ste found himself pondering his business partnership with Doug. It was strange how well they were getting on now, with how compatible with their own strengths and weaknesses, and how Doug's level headedness kept Ste's imagination down to earth, but still flowing. It was especially surprising considering their past feelings towards one another – they had felt competitive against each other for this stupid coffee shop's job, and Ste had always felt an instinctive resentment to him whenever he saw him lurking around alleyways with Brendan.

_Must stop thinking about that man. _Ste cut himself off and returned to the laptop, where he logged into the dating site and began scrolling through his messages.

Ste never thought he would have been one for online dating – he used to be one of those people who would always take the piss out of it – but Amy had suggested it and he had found some decent lads on there. With a slowly emerging grin on his face, he caught a glimpse of a message from one of said decent lads. His name was Daniel, and he seemed like a nice guy. He ran his own business a little outside of Chester, and had his own little boy from a previous relationship. _Not to mention how bloody gorgeous he is_, Ste thought with a mischievous glint in his eye. _Tall, dark hair, nice body, right up my street._

The guy had written back to Ste after he had sent his photo and a bit about himself, asking for a date the next day. Ste furrowed his brows, thinking that the bloke was a little fast moving. He couldn't really see the harm in it though – and he did quite fancy him – so he sent a short, snappy message back accepting, and started going through the application forms again for the deli jobs. Doug was stuck working there until six until the new member of staff took over, so it was only fair.

Ste found he struggled with them, though, getting frustrated at how long it took himself to process the words. He exhaled with annoyance eventually and slumped in his seat, one hand on his head. He was thinking of just packing it in and leaving them for Doug (he'd understand) when a ping from his laptop alerted him to the new message waiting on his screen.

_Great, I'll see you at 9pm, outside that Mist club in Wrexham. That ok? Looking forward to seeing you –Daniel_

Ste grinned to himself, his mood uplifted greatly at the quick reply, and typed back agreeing with Daniel. That Mist was a new club in Wrexham. It wasn't too far away for him – he loved an excuse to get a little bit out of Chester anyway. Only thing keeping him in the place was the kids and Amy.

_And Brendan_, a thought filtered into Ste's head. Ste grew momentarily irritated with himself. _Ugh, no, not Brendan. I don't care about where he is anymore. I'm not sticking around just to see him, and I wouldn't care if I never saw his face again._

Ste rolled his eyes at himself and pressed on with the application forms.

Later on, just as Ste was dishing up the kid's fish fingers and waffles (not his finest culinary art but the kids seemed to love it), he heard a tapping at the door. He settled Leah and Lucas down to eat and went to answer the door.

"Oh, hiya, Doug!" Ste smiled, letting him in. "I got them application forms sorted if that's what you're after. I definitely think we should employ Kalie, she's got really good experience and that." Ste handed the bunch of papers to him.

Doug smiled back as he took the forms and put them under his arm. He was acting normal, but Ste noticed his eyes were kind of shifty and unsure. "Oh yeah, I came for them, thanks. But I thought maybe we could go out for a drink tonight at Chez Chez? We've been working really hard lately; I'm sure you could use a little fun too."

Ste was all ready to accept, but then an ever present thought made him frown slightly. "What about Brendan? Not exactly going to be fun at Chez Chez while he's breathing down our necks."

"It's alright Ste, I heard his business partner – isn't his name Joel? – bragging to some girls that it was just going to be him running the club tonight, that he was the 'big boss' or something. So it's cool, he won't even be there, probably off on some dodgy business deal or something." Doug looked almost expectant, like he really wanted to go out. Ste supposed he just really wanted to have a good time out for a change, maybe meet a new girl. God knows he'd only just got over that Bex's murder.

So he agreed, ignoring the way his heart might have dropped slightly at the mention of Brendan not being there. Inside he was thinking, _what's wrong with me? I don't want to be near him but I never want him to leave._He tried to distract thoughts of his own love life by bringing up Doug's own. "So you'll be wanting to have a bit of fun, find a new girl, eh?" He laughed.

Doug grinned awkwardly. "Something like that."

Half an hour later and Ste was ready. He stood in front of the mirror and appraised his looks. He'd styled his hair but not too much, and he was wearing a silvery grey shirt with dark jeans. The shirt looked great on him but he couldn't help thinking about that night with Brendan every time he saw himself in the mirror.

He heard a key twist in the door and sighed in relief. Amy entered the flat, saying a cheery 'hiya Ste' as she saw him.

"Ooh, someone's looking nice," she said. "Where you off to?"

"Just clubbing, with Doug," Ste replied, fidgeting with his hair in the mirror. "We're off to Chez Chez."

Amy span him around and looked at him firmly. "And don't tell me you're so worked up about looking nice to go there 'cos Brendan will be there."

A frustration grew in Ste. "Amy, Brendan isn't even going to be there tonight! Doug found out that Joel just is. Besides, I'm well over him, me." A proud smile suddenly stretched over his face. "I've got meself a date on that website you suggested to me, haven't I? So I'm fine, Amy."

"Ooh, wow, Ste! Tell me all about it, c'mon! I'm sick of talking about my love life."

"No, Amy, I'm goin' out. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? You fine with looking after the kids tonight?"

"Course I am, Ste, but make sure you do!"

Ste locked the door to the flat and made his way further in Chester towards Doug's place. He did love Amy, really, she just got too excited over mention of his love life, ever since Brendan. He supposed she felt protective, but she had no need to, really – Ste was a grown man. In fact, he was sick of being the victim and the one to look out for all the time. He was just glad he and Doug had the deli: it was giving both of them the chance to make something of themselves and prove the world wrong, that they could stand on their own two feet.

When Ste arrived at Doug's place, he knocked sharply and Doug answered, half-ready and looking slightly embarrassed. "Oh, hiya again. Sorry, I'm not quite ready yet, just have to dry my hair," he said, and invited Ste in.

Once Doug was finished, Ste's happiness bubbled over, and he just had to tell someone properly. "I'm going on a date tomorrow; that online thing worked after all."

Doug's face contorted strangely and for a moment Ste thought he was pissed off for some reason, but then Doug turned to him and smiled widely. "That's great news, mate. Just, em, be careful yeah? I'm sure he's nice, but you don't know what weirdos you meet on the internet-"

Ste scoffed. "I've had my fair share of weirdo relationships with men in real life, to be honest. Not much would shock me."

"Yeah, I know … I just get a bit … well, with what happened to Bex with that horrible old man." Doug grimaced.

"Oh, yeah, I completely understand," Ste assured him. "And I'll be careful. No need to worry about me. Now let's go out and have a decent night, alright?"

Ste grinned, and it seemed to take Doug's doubts away for that moment. They set off for Chez Chez, engaging in light banter on the way. Ste felt that things were finally going right for him. He had started a new business that engaged his skills and things he loved with a great business partner, he had his kids, a budding love life and he felt like he was having a fresh start. _I feel on top of the world, actually_, Ste mused to himself. _Surely nothing can go wrong right now._

**A/N: Ooooo, what's the crack here;)? Will Ste see Brendan at Chez Chez? Does he still love him? Is Daniel a good guy? Please review, even if you don't like it; I appreciate constructive criticism. :p Thank you for reading, and please hang around, cause there's going to be another 5 chapters!**

**~stendanlove**


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